In their words: Defensive backs

Between Penn State's Pro Day Tuesday and two media availabilities through spring practice, early impressions of the Nittany Lions have been plentiful lately.

Last week, we looked at Penn State's quarterbacks, running backs, and the receivers, and looked at the offensive line, defensive line and linebackers this week. Wrapping up, today, will be Penn State's defensive backs.

For John Reid, losing fellow starting cornerback Amani Oruwariye to the NFL this offseason is undoubtedly significant.

Older players and the experience that they bring to the field is significant to a team’s success, he said. But the Nittany Lion corners, with his contributions as well as those of returning veteran Tariq Castro-Fields, are still feeling confident in the experience they boast this spring.

“We've always played three or four guys at corner, so when we lose a guy, we already have a guy coming in with experience,” said Reid. “But we always feel like we have the depth behind it also that can step in and make plays.”

Oruwariye, performing at the program’s Pro Day last week, agreed with the sentiment.

“Coach (Terry) Smith just is throwing out DBs, that’s all he does,” he said. “John Reid’s going to do his thing and take off, Tariq’s going to have a spectacular year, and there’s going to be some young guys who step up.”

Those young guys, especially at corner, have already started to make their presence felt this spring.

On the field with the ones during the team’s brief open practice session to the media Wednesday afternoon, January enrollee Marquis Wilson appeared opposite D.J. Brown. And, at last week’s open practice, fellow mid-semester enrollee Keaton Ellis reeled in an acrobatic interception.

The performances of both this spring prompted head coach James Franklin to say that they’ve been “impressive” and have generated a “buzz and excitement” through the course of spring practices.

“They've both got length, they've both got really good ball skills,” said Franklin. “I think the fact that both of them are fairly high-level high school receivers really helps. They're confident finding the ball in the air. And they're not undersized. They're both fairly physical at this point. So those guys have flashed a lot of really good things.”

On the field, those early impressions have been substantial, too.

Meeting with reporters Wednesday evening, slot receiver K.J. Hamler offered a glowing report on their showings so far.

“They are way better than I expected them. Marquis just has that dog mentality and Keaton is a smart player. His makeup speed can make up for all the little mistakes that he does,” said Hamler. “They're coming along really well. They're catching picks, breaking up passes. So they're doing pretty well.”

Over at safety, a pre-spring practice concern of Franklin’s seems to be at least in the process of resolving itself.

Describing Garrett Taylor as routinely demonstrating his experience and status as one of the team’s veterans, Franklin added that rising junior safety Lamont Wade also “has had a really nice camp so far.”

Earning the first-team reps this spring opposite Taylor, what’s emerged is a secondary steadily growing more confident in itself following the departures of vets Oruwariye and Nick Scott.

“I always told (Lamont) that I can't wait until he steps in and we can be on the field together because we were always on the field together in certain packages, but just the type of energy he plays with kind of reminds me of Marcus a lot,” said Reid. “So just having him step in just makes it super fun. We're kind of on the same page. We like to have fun and we joke around on the field. I like that energy that he plays with.”

Taylor, meanwhile, has also done enough to allow Scott to feel as though the safeties room is in very good hands moving forward.

“(Garrett) was a guy that sort of came up in the role as a leader, even last year leading the defense, as well as in the safety room,” said Scott. “He’s going to do extremely well leading those guys. And I would say Lamont Wade is somebody who should really take off this season in terms of his explosiveness, his speed, and his ability in coverage. That's going to make a great strong safety out of him.

“And Jon Sutherland as well, he's got a great motor. He loves to attack the ball. He's just got a little bit of that Marcus Allen in him when he comes downhill and tackles, he packs a punch. So I'm excited for those guys for sure.”